At IUN, officials pitch plan to help small businesses and better market the Region

Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune

William J. Lowe, chancellor of Indiana University Northwest, raises his hand in response to a question during a Chancellor's Commission for Community Engagement panel on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018.

William J. Lowe, chancellor of Indiana University Northwest, raises his hand in response to a question during a Chancellor's Commission for Community Engagement panel on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Officials gathered at Indiana University Northwest on Wednesday to pitch a plan to gather resources for small businesses while better marketing the area as a whole.

The latest Chancellor’s Commission for Community Engagement meeting centered on how to identify existing resources for small businesses in Northwest Indiana, highlighting help IUN could give as an institution.

IUN SPEA professor Ellen Szarleta moderated the forum. She is also director of IUN’s Center for Urban & Regional Excellence.

Speakers were Northwest Indiana Forum President and CEO Heather Ennis, Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center Regional Director Lorri Feldt, IUN business and economics school Dean Cynthia Roberts and Legacy Foundation President Carolyn Saxton.

Stressing the need for teamwork and cooperation, the Northwest Indiana Forum launched its Ignite the Region initiative recently, an economic development strategic plan for the seven-county area.

The initiative was nearly a year in the making, with input from more than 490 people in several sectors and TIP Strategies of Austin, Texas, Ennis said.

Its goals include promoting a robust and sustainable growth, fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, ensuring the region has infrastructure that would meet the needs of a 21st century economy, expanding the region's talent assets and creating the amenities and places that would enhance the region's appeal to a diverse population.

Officials previously said the plan also looks at expanding the real estate available for industrial and commercial use, accelerating brownfield development, expanding broadband service, providing education and training, having a more comprehensive talent attraction campaign, supporting the development of vibrant downtowns and having diverse and affordable housing.

More than 60 investors have signed up so far to help fund the plan, Ennis said.

She and others said despite economic challenges facing Northwest Indiana, more could be done to better market it, especially for communities in north Lake County — Gary, Hammond and East Chicago.

“We’re not telling the best story of Northwest Indiana,” Ennis said. “We’re not proud of it.”

Feldt said her role would be to help pull resources that already in the Region that can be used by local business owners.

“Entrepreneurs don’t always realize the resources that are within their reach,” she said.

Saxton said the Legacy Foundation — a Merrillville nonprofit that provides seed money grants — had helped fund several initiatives in recent years to improve local quality of life.

Those ranged from senior housing in Hobart to a community arts center in Gary’s Miller section, she said.

Funding cultural and arts projects help “establish places where people want to live,” Saxton said.

It is currently working on a study to expand basic transportation options for seniors in Merrillville, Saxton said.

Roberts highlighted projects at IUN, noting students had reached out to small businesses to offer help as part of capstone projects for several years.

About three dozen attended on Wednesday including a NIPSCO representative and several school superintendents.

IUN’s Chancellor’s Commission for Community Engagement has hosted events since 2011, according to a release.

The last event in April featured a discussion on longtime Region-specific labor and economic trends with IUN economics and finance professors Micah Pollak and Bala Arshanapalli.

Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune

Lorri Feldt, regional director of Nortwhest Indiana Small Business Development Center, speaks during a Chancellor's Commission for Community Engagement panel on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, at Indiana University Northwest.

Lorri Feldt, regional director of Nortwhest Indiana Small Business Development Center, speaks during a Chancellor's Commission for Community Engagement panel on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, at Indiana University Northwest. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune

Cynthia Roberts, Dean of the School of Business and Economics at Indiana University Northwest, center, laughs with other panelists during a Chancellor's Commission for Community Engagement event on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018.

Cynthia Roberts, Dean of the School of Business and Economics at Indiana University Northwest, center, laughs with other panelists during a Chancellor's Commission for Community Engagement event on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)